Partial Truth
by grandvizier527
Summary: This is the first of several continuation fics for Sym-Bionic Titan that take place after the last episode before the story could wrap up. In this one (Episode 21), Kimmy is relieved to see Octus alive, and the two go on a date to make up for all the time lost. But when duty calls, Kimmy isn't willing to buy his same old bathroom excuse.


Episode 21: A partial truth

K+

Kimmy could not believe her eyes...or her cell phone screen, for that matter. Newton was alive! She felt that the way he had left her before the dance so mysteriously didn't matter at all anymore; the fact that he was alive after having disappeared for weeks was a relief. She recalled that it had been such a long time since she had heard his voice, and now she wanted to her it more than ever before.

"Kimmy?" A voice called from her cell phone. It was one of Kimmy's friends, Monica; she had been talking to her when the text had interrupted their trivial conversation.

"Kimmers? What's the problem?" Monica asked.

"I got a text," Kimmy replied.

"Oh, no! Was it, like, one of those chain things that you have to forward to somebody else or suffer the consequences?" Monica asked with partial worry.

"No. It was from...Newton," Kimmy said, tears down her face. She hung up the phone, not wishing to her Monica's reaction, whatever it may be. She had to be alone to properly take in this moment.

As Titan flew home from that day's great battle, feelings of triumph and fatigue surged through the minds of the trio that fought using it. They couldn't help but think that they belonged here, on this beautiful planet. Had the rift gate launched them in Sherman for a reason, such as to save the inhabitants from the chaos which the Mutradi caused? The answer couldn't be known for sure, but there was not a doubt in their minds that this planet had been chosen for them.

The giant robot landed just outside the front yard of the neighborhood as the sun shone golden to the west. Titan powered itself down so that two teenagers and a robot now took its place. To their surprise, the tranquility of their suburbs was virtually unchanged from the attacks: birds were chirping, the sun was blazing warmly; the flowers were blooming as if someone had watered them in the family's absence, and even the houses were intact. It seemed like everything had reset itself to welcome the arrival of its residents. Only one thing had changed: the mailbox was full. Lance looked at the calendar inside the house as Octus checked on the mail. Like before, nothing had been moved since they left. The house appeared as safe as ever, with its inviting furniture and sun-lit floor and walls. "How long has it been since we left?" Lance asked Ilana as he turned on the light.

"I don't know. Three weeks, maybe," she said, glancing at the calendar to mentally calculate the days that had passed. "I'm just glad that we're finally home!" she said with relief. Lance turned on the lights to inspect the rest of the house, and Ilana stared outside at the front yard at the flowers now blooming in their yard. They hadn't been there before, but it was obvious who had planted them.

"I'll bet Barb was the one who kept the outside of the house looking nice," she said to Octus as he came in.

"Most likely," he agreed. "I think she was the only one who expected us to come back." Lance came back into the living room as they spoke.

"Hey, Octus, can you get dinner ready? I'm getting hungry," he said.

Minutes later, the Lunis family was seated at the table in the kitchen, eating store-bought medium rare steak with a side of some sort of salad that Octus had hastily made. But the food didn't matter; what did was that they were eating together again, as if nothing had changed. No one wanted anything to go differently.

"It's great to be eating dinner as a family again," Ilana said, voicing their thoughts out loud.

"Family?" Octus asked, vaguely remembering that the word had a special meaning in this household.

"Yeah, remember? We're family, Octus, and we can't be one without you," Lance said, his voice softening as he realized that he had never really had one before.

"Oh, now I remember," the robot replied warmly. "That moment you and Ilana said I was part of your family, on my birthday, before I was almost killed...it was one of the last things I remembered before shutting down. I think that's because..." Octus began to smile. "It was one of the best memories I had ever had."

"I'm glad we could make it so," Ilana said cheerfully as they finished dinner. After dinner, as the teens started up the stairs, Octus silently turned off his hologram as he watched them trudge on to bed. Suddenly, both teens felt Octus wrap his gel body around them.

"What are you doing, Octus?" Lance asked, slowly being crushed by Octus' grip.

"I'm giving you a hug," he said. "On this planet, hugs are used very frequently to express feelings of love. And this hug is my way of saying how much I love you two as my family," he said.

"Thanks, Octus, we love you too. Good night," Ilana said as she and Lance broke free of his grip. Lance wasn't sure how Octus could even have the emotional capacity to give affection like that. Although he found it a little discomforting, he knew what the robot was trying to communicate.

"Yeah, uh...goodnight, Octus," he said as he closed his bedroom door.

The next morning, the three heroes woke up, feeling refreshed and ready to start the next school day. Octus made breakfast while in his "Mr. Lunis" hologram, like he always had before the incident on the space station. The others told him of the events that occurred in his absence.

"And we were forced to live as wanderers until we learned that Steel's new robot, the Hammer, had a power generator big enough to recharge you," Lance explained through a mouthful of syrup-covered waffles. "The Hammer actually looked pretty tough, although it was nowhere near as flexible as Titan."

"From your description, it sounds inadequate to fight Titan," Octus noted.

"Yeah, maybe, but that's beside the point," Lance said brusquely, eager to continue his explanation. "But get this: We figured out that the Hammer was made from a metal alloy from Mutradi! I think it came from the rocket Tashy came in. I'm surprised they built such a big machine out of it."

"I'm surprised Steel had the intellectual capacity to use it," Octus replied jokingly. Ilana chuckled.

"Well, it was impossible to beat without you, so Solomon had to come in and save us," Ilana continued for Lance, who was now busy nibbling on strips of bacon. "We stayed with G3 for a day, and then Steel and his troops came and attacked us in retaliation. G3 helped us fight them back, but there was nothing we could do against the Hammer."

"And then, those 3 Mutradi monsters showed up," said Lance, the excitement rising in his voice. "We all decided to work together to defeat them. All of us were helpless; out of time, out of options, and certain to die, until out of the blue...well, you saved our lives!" Lance finished.

"We can't thank you enough, Octus. Not only did you save us, but you saved everyone in Sherman, San Francisco, Paris, and possibly the whole world! You're a hero, Octus!" Ilana said, hugging him.

"Aw..." Octus would have blushed, but he was incapable of doing so. "I'm glad I could help, but we were all heroes yesterday."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ilana mused. "And now I can't wait to be a hero to my own people soon. I don't think too much about what happened back there, but I am sure that my father is alive, and I just know that he and the people are fighting back. And eventually, I know we'll return...somehow."

"That's the spirit!" Octus said, with the best enthusiasm that could be stressed from a robot. As they finished breakfast in silence, they heard the doorbell ring. Octus knew who it was, and he didn't want to see her. So he just let it ring.

"Octus, it's rude not to answer the door," Ilana whispered sternly, although it was actually quite unnecessary. "I know you don't like her, but you could at least thank her for keeping our lawn nice."

"All right, all right," he said reluctantly. He got up to answer the door, and the teens followed him, just in case. Octus paused in front of the door and slowly opened it, before it was nearly swung open by the woman outside.

"Oh, yeah. Her," Lance said under his breath. The three of them stepped aside, and she practically waltzed in, a huge grin on her face.

"Hey there, Lunises!" Barb said in her usual eccentric voice. "It has been _so _long since I last saw you guys! How ya been?" She said, grabbing all three of them in her arms and squeezing them tight. "You guys are just like the family outside the family!" She cried. "So, where have you guys been? You weren't at the block party, or the neighborhood barbecue. And you, Daddy-o, I didn't see you go to the 'Adults only' party at my place, hmmm?" She said flirtatiously to Octus.

"We took a vacation—an unusually extended vacation," he said nervously, glancing at the Galalunans, who were still caught in Barb's deadly embrace.

"Uh...yeah. We went to...uh...San Francisco," Lance said. Technically, they had gone there when fighting one of those three Mutradi.

"...And Paris, we went to Paris," Ilana continued. "We just got back. It was fun," she said. That was a blatant lie; nothing about the things she and Lance had been through before Octus' return had been "fun".

"Oh, I envy you, sweetie! Did you go shopping with Big Brother over here?" She said, releasing the three of them only to pinch Lance's cheeks.

"Uh, yeah," she said nervously, hoping that she could get Barb to release her bodyguard from her grip before he lost it. Thankfully, she did.

"You gotta take me to Paris sometime, Daddy," Barb said. Then, leaning in close, she whispered, "Have you heard how _romantic_ those people are?" An awkward silence ensued, and the teens gaped. Barb hadn't been quiet enough.

"...Uh, Barb, perhaps you could come back another time? I have to take the kids to school," Octus said nervously, remembering from his internal calendar that today was a school day.

"Oh, alright, I'll leave you guys alone. But if you ever need me, you know where to go," she said, blowing a kiss at Octus as she left the house. The three heroes headed for the car.

"That moment with Barb was...disturbing," Lance said as they piled into Octus' van.

"She was just trying to be friendly...I think," Ilana added.

"Her friendliness and...affection towards me makes her far more dangerous than any Mutradi we have faced so far," Octus said, with a completely serious tone.

Lance laughed. "Nah, she's not a challenge to us, just to you. Hey, why do you not like it when Barb comes around, but you're perfectly fine with Kimmy?" he asked.

"Kimmy's...special," Octus said almost defensively, remembering his true love as they arrived at school. Her name activated happy times stored in his memory banks.

Octus' sensors indicated she was somewhere in the parking lot. At his request, Lance and Ilana had headed inside the school building. Being a machine, he theorized he would never know love. Luckily, he made a major miscalculation.

Kimmy, meanwhile, had just parked her car in the school parking lot as well, a reasonable distance away from Newton's van. He didn't see her yet. She took a deep breath—more like a gasp—as she saw him again after what had felt like an eternity. As she stepped out of her car, she hesitated, wondering what to say when she saw him. But impatience overtook her, and she found herself running to where he was, not caring how silly she looked for doing this in heels. Octus turned around and smiled as she collided into him with happiness. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, not saying a word, fighting back the tears of joy that ran down her face. Octus didn't react physically, but he felt his circuits energizing and his CPU malfunctioning from the affection. She kissed him lightly on the cheek before finally letting go and looking at him.

"Newton...I thought something horrible had happened to you! I...I'm so sorry for the way I was. If I'd known you'd be leaving...Is everything all right now?" she asked finally, unsure of what to say upon their reunion.

"Yes," he assured her, placing a large hand on her delicate shoulder. "But I shouldn't have abandoned you at the dance, and I want to make it up to you somehow; I propose that we have dinner at Luigi's tonight. Just you and me. And I promise, there I will explain as much as I can."

"You'd really take me to Luigi's?" Kimmy asked in surprise. "But that place is, like, really expensive! And... what about your bathroom problem?"

"I'll be able to pay for it. And about the bathroom thing..." Octus searched for an excuse he could use. "Listen, I never wanted you to know this, but... I have an extremely frail bladder."

"What?" Kimmy asked in disbelief. "Was that bathroom thing the real reason all along?"

"Yes, it was," Octus said nervously. "Why do you look as if you don't believe me?" he asked when she gave him a puzzled look.

"I...I guess I have no choice but to take your word for it. I mean, I understand why you would be so secretive about it. Well, I guess it's a medical condition you can't help," Kimmy sighed. "It would be really mean of me to dump you just cause' of something you can't help having. I swear I won't tell anyone," she finished with a slight tone of frustration in her voice that didn't go undetected by Octus.

"Thank you. I'll see you at 8," Octus replied. "I'll do whatever needs to be done to amend our relationship, Kimmy."

"Good. I'll see you then," she said, walking away, trying to forget about the doubts she now had about her boyfriend. "And Newton?" she called back to him suddenly as he went to a different building on the campus.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for coming back," she said warmly. Octus smiled back, and despite the unease she had felt from his words and expressions before, Kimmy could tell that Octus felt much happier after she had said that. He nodded, waved her a temporary goodbye, and the parted ways.

I'm glad I'm back, too, Octus thought. Those days spent drained of his power were ones of darkness and emptiness. He couldn't see, hear, or feel. He couldn't even think, until that man from G3 started observing his memory banks. Speaking of which, who was that man? The robot decided that this was a question to ponder over later.

Ilana walked into the school building, noticing that nothing had really seemed to change. The other kids in the hallway stared at her, surprised that she and the others had come back. Aside from a brief wave from Maribel, no one greeted her, as usual, but Ilana was accustomed to the popularity reversal on this planet. She was just glad to see Sherman High again, and eager to back to the tedious routine of homework and studying. Anything besides fighting off aliens trying to kill you, she reasoned. She gathered her books at her locker and proceeded to her first class for the day when she felt a pair of arms grab her from behind and clasp her tightly. She screamed and turned her head around to face her captor. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized who was holding her.

"Jason! It's great to see you again!" she said. "But don't sneak up on me like that again! You scared me!"

"Hi, Ilana! I've really missed you!" Jason said, squeezing her tightly.

"I missed you too," she replied, trying to break free from his grip around her waist. Jason didn't let go until he realized how large the crowd of staring kids had become. The passing students laughed at the lovesick boy and his now humiliated crush.

"Uh, Jason...you can let go of me now," she said.

"Wha...? Oh! Sorry!" Jason replied, withdrawing. Everyone laughed as his cheeks turned crimson. He turned and started to walk away. As everyone teased him, Ilana suddenly spoke up:

"Hey, will you guys cut it out? I thought you people thought of _me_ as the doofus around here!" she cried. Everyone suddenly stopped, suddenly aware of her presence. Some of the other kids began to surround her. "Why should we?" one of Kimmy's more vicious-looking jock friends asked as he towered over Ilana.

She, not intimidated, declared, "Because nobody likes to be bullied! If you took one step in the shoes of people like my friend Jason, you'd see how awful it is to be mocked every day! Well, I say no more!"

Impressed by her powerful words, the jocks, and mean girls who usually go by more vulgar names, and the other bullies left. Ilana turned to Jason and smiled when they did.

"I'm tired of people like them making fun of people like us," she said. "It's about time we took a stand!"

"Thanks, Ilana," Jason said, his blush fading. As she left for her next class, Jason called out, "Uh, Ilana, uh...could we...?" he began.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Never mind. Just...thank you for sticking up for me."

"Any time, Jason," she said as she left. Jason frowned, disappointed that he had been so bold as to hug her in public but not so bold as to ask her out.

Lance, meanwhile, was essentially doing what he had always done at school: sleeping in class, brooding, getting lost in his own thoughts while girls swooned over his mere presence. Usually, his closest thoughts were depressing ones; Octus, at his request, never observed what went through his mind unless he thought it was necessary. But today it was different; he was thinking positive thoughts. With Octus back, he felt as if they could finally settle down. Lance thought of some of the things he could do, now that things were back to normal. The list was short, but fulfilling: play his guitar, perhaps even write a song, get back to his old workout schedule...maybe even date that cute girl he wrestled a while back. He noticed that he was looking at him now. She still had magenta highlights in her black hair.

"Hey," he said.

"You're back," she replied.

"Yeah. We left," Lance said, not eager to engage in a long conversation filled with questions. The girl understood this from his body language.

"You just went through a lot, didn't you?" she asked.

Lance's eyes widened. What did she know? Then he relaxed. Maybe it was written all over his face. He smiled at her. The girls swooning over Lance gave a series of mixed cries, some with delight, and others with jealousy.

"Yeah, but everything's better now," he said. The girl smiled back in response.

"Good," she said, walking away. Lance sighed. He had just blown the opportunity to ask her out. Oh, well, maybe next time...

Just then, Octus appeared. He looked rather excited as he walked up to Lance, who had just finished brooding.

"I've got a date with Kimmy," Octus announced. Lance raised his eyebrows, not reacting in the way Octus expected him too.

"Uh... great," said Lance. "I guess could drop you off at wherever you're going," he said. In truth, because Octus was a robot, Lance didn't approve of him dating Kimmy. But after what had happened that night at the dance, he felt a little sorry for hm. Lance reasoned that Octus needed a chance to be happy, if happiness was possible for a robot. He started for his locker when Octus asked, "Are you jealous because I have girlfriend and you don't, Lance?"

"No, not at all", he replied. That was almost a lie. "By the way", he asked Octus, "How did you...come back to life after that energy thing...killed you?"

"Someone repaired me. I wish I could say who, but...I don't know who he was, and I was barely activated-conscious, rather- as he did his work," he replied. "Solomon, possibly?"

"Could have been," Lance said as Octus entered the garage. But since G3 had disappeared, there was no way to tell for sure just yet.

"Another failure? Why?!" screamed Modula, his anger reverberating around the palace hallways of Galaluna. He was pacing up and down the sun forsaken corridors of his former friend's palace. The hallways were still devastated, with torn tapestries and dried blood on the railings of one of the stairs, left over from the coup. Now, General Modula, traitor to the King, was one the third floor of the palace, staring angrily outside at the Galalunan countryside below him. Since the coup, the sky had gone much darker than usual. It had turned from its usual green to a dark orange. Black clouds dotted this new sky. Modula's scientists had insisted that it had been the result of having so many Mutradi megabeasts concentrated within the city during the coup. The ones that had the ability to set themselves on fire, they claimed, had sent so much ash, smoke, and flame into the air that the skyline would stay like this for months, perhaps a full year. But the general cared little for the atmosphere, so long as it remained breathable. In fact, he normally enjoyed looking out to see the devastated landscape, reasoning that someday it would be redesigned into something far grander, and far more suiting for the heart of an empire.

"What could have gone wrong?" he asked himself. "Should I have sent them to the same location? Were my creatures too weak? Or is Titan too strong?" Modula rarely talked to himself unless something was bothering him. He clenched his fists as if there was some sort of invisible object he could hold onto to calm himself down.

He knew that if he could just kill Ilana, not the robot or whoever else was protecting her, the tables could be turned. The King would lose his will to fight. It was either that, or wipe out every citizen who opposed his plans for the kingdom to become an empire ruled by him and like-minded people. He knew the King and his troops were somewhere underground, but where? No matter. Galaluna was only so big; they could not hide forever. And when they were found, they would easily be overrun by sheer numbers.

"My General", said a voice from behind him. Modula could tell by the accent of the voice that it was one of the Mutradi scientists who wisely took up his great cause. "I have created a new creature for you. It will work because it cannot be touched." "Show me," Modula replied.

The General followed the scientist through the right wing of the castle. It had been converted into a laboratory shortly after the coup. Machines of all types lined the hallway leading up to another large room. This room had once housed portraits of the previous monarchs of Galaluna; now it was used as a facility in which creatures were displayed to Modula. Some of the creatures had been recently transferred from their home planet, but this area's primary function was to biologically engineer new monsters. Their past creations had failed to kill Ilana and her allies, but would this one work? Modula wasn't sure, but he smiled at the monstrosity that lay before him.

"It looks...positively intangible! If it can't be felt, it can't be beaten, correct?" Modula asked the scientist.

"Well, partially, sir, but the creature would have to solidify itself briefly in order to make physical contact with Titan, leaving it open to-"

"Send it to Earth!" Modula interrupted tersely. The scientist nodded, and left the room, the monster's gaseous body hovering close behind. It shrunk its size until it was small enough to fit through the doorway which led to the room with the device that fired the Rift Gate. Modula turned to another scientist that stood there and warned:

"If it should fail, those responsible for this creation will be either banished from the planet-or executed," the General added. The scientist nodded. Modula proceed to the control room that ultimately launched the Rift Gate portal. He glanced at a Galalunan soldier that was working there and said, "I'd like to try something with the machinery." The solider stood up from his chair and saluted, giving Modula the controls. The General sat down and stared at the complex panel of instruments.

"Edward...in all of your wisdom, you still had a foolish streak," he said aloud, firing a green bolt of energy from the eye of his hat. The machinery glowed green, and the eye on Modula's hat blinked briefly, but the soldier did not see it because Modula had his back turned to him.

At the same moment, a small frog-like Mutradi entered the room, wearing a glove on his right hand. The gloved hand clutched a dark purple drink, which the soldier took from the Mutradi servant.

"Ah, yes, a second witness to my discovery!" Modula exclaimed after a few seconds, somehow knowing that the frog Mutradi was behind him. "It seems that my hat can manipulate machinery, forcing it to do my bidding. I will use this technique to directly control the monster when it reaches Earth. Through its eyes, I will get firsthand knowledge of Titan's fighting skills. And with every fighting style, there is a weakness the enemy can exploit." Modula pressed the buttons needed to launch the monster, and in seconds a flash of light came from behind the glass panel overlooking the launch room, indicating that the monster had been sent on its journey. Modula got up and gave the chair back to the Galalunan. Accepting his wine, he asked the frog Mutradi, "Did you touch this with your exposed hand?"

"No, master," the Mutradi replied.

"Good. I can't risk infection from Mutradi germs," Modula replied as he briskly walked out of the control room. The Mutradi watched him go as the Galalunan resumed his post.

"He has been on our planet long enough that he would have developed immunity to any diseases! The General need not be so-"

"So what?" The solider asked.

"Never mind," the frog Mutradi replied.

It was a marvelous night in downtown Sherman. Musicians, movie theaters, and the occasional hippie were lined on every street corner. Neon and lights dotted the city, almost outnumbering the stars in the sky. The buildings rose to meet them. But still scattered here and there, left as a reminder of the omnipresent threat, where foundations of leveled skyscrapers. They had been destroyed by the Mutradi Mega-beasts, the giant monsters who all made attempts to kill Ilana, in vain. Lance was chaperoning Kimmy and Octus to Luigi's since he really had nothing else to do, though Octus already had his license. He couldn't wait to talk to Kimmy over a delicious meal. Ilana once told him that, despite the fact that he was a robot, had very good cooking skills, and even better eating skills. "We're here!" Lance interrupted his thoughts. "You have a great time, ok? But be prepared in case you need to..." then he realized Kimmy could hear him. "... Go the bathroom, ok?"

"Don't worry. The bathrooms at Luigi's are really clean," Kimmy said.

The restaurant in question was a humble but respected establishment on the corner of the street, with its name in green neon letters. Although casual clothing was acceptable, more formal clothing was encouraged, possibly to match the high prices of the food. In respect to this rule, Kimmy emerged from Lance's car wearing a sky-blue strapless dress, a pearl necklace, and earrings with tiny emeralds dangling at the tips. Similarly, Octus wore the same tuxedo that he had meant to wear for homecoming. Kimmy crossed the sidewalk to open the door, but Octus hesitated to talk with Lance.

"I want you two to have a great time," Lance said, "But if something happens with the Rift Gate, we meet in the countryside to fight the Mutradi, period. Got it?"

"I understand," Octus said. Before he could say anything else, Lance rolled up the windows of his car and drove off. The robot sighed. "It's not that simple," he said silently to himself. He joined Kimmy at the door of the restaurant, who he hoped would lift up his spirits.

"Forget about them," she said. "It's just the two of us tonight, okay?"

"I'll do what I can to keep things that way," Octus said as he held the door open for her.

They ordered a table for two by the window. Octus analyzed the structure of the building as they sat down. The interior of the building had a green carpet covering the floor, and every chair of every table and booth was cushioned to ensure a comfortable sitting. In terms of size, the place was small, but crowded. He counted 67 people total, not including waiters and chefs that went to and from the kitchen located in a corner, away from most of the diners. The two were led to their table, and minutes later, breadsticks arrived as appetizers. The two attempted light conversation as they ate.

"I'm glad that you brought me here," Kimmy said, dipping her breadstick lightly in the bowl of olive oil provided by the restaurant. "Brandon never took me to places like this; just movies were sat in the back and made out. But you're different because you actually care about how I'm doing, and stuff."

"My intention for bringing you here is so that we can repair our estranged relationship," Octus explained, smiling at her. "Also, I've heard the pasta's really good!"

"Oh, you're such a glutton!" She laughed. Seconds later, the food that they had ordered arrived on porcelain plates. Kimmy received a plate of boiled shrimp, and Octus got a bowl of pasta. Although these were among the cheapest items on the menu, they tasted delicious nonetheless.

"Wow! That was surprisingly quick!" Kimmy exclaimed. She and the robot ate silently for a moment, too hungry to be occupied with conversation. But as their meals were about half-finished, Kimmy decided to break the ice.

"Newton, it's really great to have you back, but I was really worried about you." Octus braced himself for the incoming question: "Why did your family leave for so long? What had happened?" Octus, if he had been human, would probably have begun some sort of nervous habit in response. Instead, he answered the question as frankly as he could:

"A grandmother that was close to us had recently passed away. She lived far away in...San Francisco and we felt that it was best to mourn for her there, so we stayed in the city until we felt ready to return home. Her death was much unexpected. Although we grieved for a considerably long time, I can assure you that it had nothing to do with the way..."

"The dance?" Kimmy asked, not wishing for him to say it. "Yeah...about that...I can't tell you how sorry I am for standing you up like that. I thought something terrible had happened to you afterwards. I couldn't sleep at all, Newton! And now I just want you to stay and-"

"-Yes, I know," Octus interrupted. "You told me all of this before, Kimmy, remember? I suggest that we forget the past and continue with the way we are now." Kimmy, who now had a lump in her throat from the emotions, nodded.

"Well, then...now that you're back, I've got to tell you everything you missed," she said. "Did I ever introduce you to Karen?" "I don't think so," Octus replied.

"Okay, well, Karen is basically a bit like me, only..." Octus turned his audio recording software on, but muted his auditory receptors. That way, he could respond to Kimmy's conversation when necessary without having to actually listening to it. Being a robot had its perks, after all. Octus spent this period of time thinking as Kimmy spoke, occasionally nodding when necessary.

_She still loves me, _he thought. _And more importantly, she still trusts me...sort of. But what if a Mutradi shows up? I can't give her the bathroom excuse like I have before. If I don't tell her the truth eventually-or at least part of it-she has every right to leave me for good. And I think I love her too much to keep lying anymore. Wait...a partial truth, that's it! Octus-er, Newton-you're a genius! Well, of course Isaac Newton was a genius! Or am I referring to myself? No matter._

"Is that crazy, or what?" Kimmy asked him. Octus analyzed a recorded transcript of Kimmy's monologue and replied, "Super crazy!" she laughed in reply.

"You know, you can be really funny when you want to be," she said.

"Indeed. But I have something serious on my mind that needs to be said," the robot began. "Kimmy, I-" just then, the Rift Gate opened. Octus' programming told him to head immediately to the location of the signal.

"-I'll tell you when I get back from the bathroom," he said. "It's an emergency, I swear!"

"Wha-What?" Kimmy asked in disbelief. "But...no! No! You're doing that bathroom thing again!" she cried. "Why? What is it that's so important? You don't have to listen to your weird family all the time! Don't leave me again, please!"

"Kimmy, I promise, you'll understand when I return!" Octus cried, rushing out of the restaurant to the door, making sure to move at a normal human speed. When the restaurant was out of sight, he made for the skies. Without stopping, Octus flew outside of the city limits, leaving Kimmy at Luigi's.

"Why?" she asked, blinking her watery eyes in hopelessness.

Doing his best to suppress his memories of Kimmy, Octus transmitted a message to Lance and Ilana's armor. They arrived at the location of the signal shortly after receiving it, armor powered on. The area were the signal had come from was a typical vast cornfield, quite common in this part of Illinois. A few power lines could be seen in the distance. The road, which lay about a football field away, seemed to stretch in both directions forever. These deserted landscapes were often ideal areas for combat. Our heroes, when possible, tried to divert the creatures into areas like this, to limit human casualties. The only corpses needed were the ones belonging to their opponents. As the three approached, they saw a strange sight: a giant creature consisting of a simple pink cloud of an alien gas. Octus analyzed it: the gas had two areas that were dark brown which made up the creature's eyes. It also had two projections on either side of it that could function as arms, and a tail-like protrusion on its posterior. "Does that thing have...arms and eyes?" Ilana asked Octus. "How can it have arms and eyes when it's a cloud of gas?" she added.

"Who cares what it is?" said Lance. "We just need to see if it gets hurt. If it does, we can kill it."

"Initiating Sym-Bionic Titan," Octus answered. He often said this to signal to the others that forming Titan would be necessary.

_(Note: This explanation of how Titan is formed is little difficult to follow, and it is very difficult to describe. Bear with me here!)_

So they formed Titan the way they always did. Octus grew to the size of a giant to form Titan's outer frame. The Manus's arms detached at the shoulders, and Octus' cords, now enlarged to the size of Manus's arms, attached to the empty sockets. Than Manus's arms reattached themselves in the robot. The cockpit opened, and Lance's body floated up to Octus' head. His body was now located in suspended animation in an area behind the fused robot's face. Next, cords extended from the heart-shaped core of the Corus armor. Attaching to the sides of the compartments on the Manus robot's shoulders, where the missiles were stored, these cords now formed a wall to protect Corus's core, which was now Titan's core. Corus's cockpit opened, and Ilana's body, which was also in a state of suspended animation, floated up to Titan's head. Finally, the mechanical parts of Octus' body changed shape to form Titan's hands and feet. The gel-like portion of his body then surrounded and hardened itself around Titan's body, forming its outer armor. All of this happened in a matter of seconds.

The sentient cloud of gas that challenged Titan made no sound. It moved rapidly up to Titan's face and delivered a deadly punch. Titan fell to the ground on its back, crushing the cornstalks unlucky enough to lie behind it. Lance and Ilana communicated with their thoughts when they were inside Titan. How exactly it was possible was a mystery to them. But they dared not question the mechanics of Titan; they would never understand it completely. "How did that thing punch us?" Lance asked aloud. When Titan stood to its feet, it tried to punch the creature. But the fist went right through its cloudy body. And the creature, undamaged, punched Titan again, slamming it to the ground. But Titan stood back up, only to be knocked down in a never-ending pattern. Titan unsheathed a spear from what seemed like its own hand, but was in fact a piece of the machinery stored in the palm of its hand which formed into the shape of a spear. Titan jabbed at various parts of the cloudy Mutradi's gaseous body with its weapon, but to no avail. The gas cloud grabbed Titan with its massive hands and tossed it up in the air. Titan tried to turn its jets on as it was being flung up in the air, but the gas cloud swooped up, its fist colliding into Titan's exposed back. Titan fell forward, but managed to catch itself with its jets before it fell, scorching another group of cornstalks with blue flame. As the gas cloud tried to punch it from behind once more, Titan rocketed skyward, barely dodging the cloud's fist. Titan strafed to one side as the cloud once more tried to hit Titan from below. When they two were at the same level, Titan Lance groaned in frustration.

"Why can't we get a hit?" he asked aloud.

"The thing seems to solidify its fist right before it attacks," Octus stated. "The gas it consists of is so dense, it is capable of clumping its own particles into a strong solid mass." "How do we beat it?" Ilana asked.

"We must attack it right after it solidifies," stated Octus.

"I don't know what we'd do without you," said Lance. "You just tell me when to hit, okay? Initiating sym-bionic sword," he said. A sword appeared in Titan's free hand.

"Attack...now!" Octus shouted. As the cloud solidified, Titan's sword sliced off an arm of the cloud. The severed arm simply vanished. The gaseous beast writhed in pain. It tumbled backwards in the air from the blow, charging at Titan for another attack.

"Strike... now!" Octus commanded. Upon command, Titan swung its sword, slicing off half of the creature's body along with the arm. The thing was now a quarter of its original size. It retreated, speeding over the landscape. "Don't let it get away!" Lance yelled. And Titan ran close behind the creature, now in hot pursuit.

Kimmy, meanwhile, had long finished her meal without Octus, requesting the waiter to throw his own away. Would he come back this time? She doubted it now. She hung her head as she sat the table, trying not to give up home for her boyfriend.

"He just left me...again!" she cried, with no one bothering to listen. "He's keeping some awful secret from me, I just know it!" She felt a tap on her shoulder. Lifting her head, she snapped, "Oh, _there_ you are! What happened this ti-oh, sorry!" It was only the waiter, asking if the party of 1 was finished.

"Your bill is ready," the waiter said. "Would you like to pay it when your date comes back, or right now?"

"Now," Kimmy replied. "He's not coming back any time soon. In fact, I don't know if he's going to come back at all."

Kimmy left the restaurant, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes with her dress, staining that as well as her make-up. She decided that, despite the potential for danger, walking home was her only option. She continued along the sidewalk, trying to make her way back to the suburbs, hoping not to get lost. The streets were as bright and vibrant as they had been before she had eaten, but now it all felt miles away, despite being so close she could touch it. The happy people and smiling faces only aggravated her more because it felt like they were all indifferent to her problems, which they were. She wanted to think that if Newton were here, he would listen to her like he always did. But then she remembered that, no, he wouldn't, he would just leave for the "bathroom" again. Whatever secret he had, she could care less. Her only request was that he didn't leave her unexpectedly. Whatever it was that made him disappear, she wanted to know, and if there was nothing she could do about it, then at least she knew the truth. The truth; that was all she really wanted. A boyfriend who loved her and was honest about where he went.

She came to a small recreational park in the middle of the city, much like Central Park, only significantly smaller. The lights on the lampposts were on and there seemed to be very few people there at the moment. Actually, the only people she saw were another couple sitting on a bench, making out. She scowled at them, partially out of jealousy, only pausing for a moment before moving on home. But then a deep and intimidating voice stopped her in her tracks:

"Hey." Kimmy turned around in shock. But then she relaxed again when she realized who it was.

"Go away, Brandon," she said. "I just wanna go home." Brandon placed a hand on her bare shoulder, and she stopped in her tracks.

"All dressed up, huh? Let me guess, you figured out that he doesn't care about you," he said. Kimmy scowled with her back turned to him.

"Stay out of this. He just has some...issues."

"He might be nicer than me, but he's got a side of him that he doesn't want you to see, and I'll bet it has to do with the way he runs off all the time."

"How would you know? Have you been spying on us?" she asked, breaking free and turning to face him again.

"N-no! I just wouldn't trust a guy like him, that's all," Brandon replied quickly.

"You're jealous, Brandon, and I can tell. I know you think you can get me to leave him for good, but I won't do that. Newton's not the only one to blame in this relationship. I haven't exactly been Miss Innocent. Maybe he has a reason for hiding from me. Maybe he's trying to protect me. I don't know. But he promised me he'd tell me the truth when he got back from wherever, and right now, I have to thank you."

"Huh?"

"You reminded me where I need to be right now. I'm going back to Luigi's," she declared. "I'll prove to you that he's loyal enough." And with that, Kimmy walked briskly back the way she had gone. Brandon growled.

"Way to blow it," he said to himself. "You may have her fooled, Newton, but don't think I'll let you take her away from me so easily!"

Titan, meanwhile, was continuing its pursuit of the cloud of gas. Despite its weak condition, it flew very fast. In an attempt to slow it down, Titan fired a laser from the palm of its hand into the gas cloud. But it didn't slow down at all, having no effect whatsoever despite being one of Titan's more powerful weapons. Titan finally caught up to it and slashed its sword. But the creature took no damage. "Because it is not attacking us, it won't solidify," said Octus. "But think I know a method of attack that will kill it. First, we need to power down."

"Okay, then," said Lance. And in a blinding flash of light, the cords and machine parts assembled themselves back to their original positions. The Manus and Corus robots, as well as Octus himself, were once again three separate entities.

"You two prevent the gas cloud from escaping. All you need to do is corner it," commanded Octus. Lance fired up the jets on the Manus robot's feet, and Ilana did the same to Corus. They surrounded the creature from two sides. When the cloud tried to swerve around them, Octus was waiting. He extended the portions of gel that served as his hands. They enveloped the cloud from all sides. He then sent jolts of electricity through the cloud, now trapped inside of Octus' body. Upon electrocution, the cloud shrank. It was vaporized in a matter of seconds. The trio hovered in place now, scanning the area for remains.

"Odd. It's just gone," Ilana said. "Usually there's a big puddle of blood or some body parts. We need to fight gas giants more often, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Lance agreed jokingly. "Hey Octus, don't you have a date or something?" he recalled. The light which more or less served as Octus' eye lit up in panic.

"Oh, no, Kimmy! My snuggle bear will be so mad!" said Octus to himself, and he flew off into the night back to Luigi's.

"Snuggle bear? What the heck does that mean?" asked Lance.

"It's a pet name, I think," Ilana replied. "Some couples give each other silly nicknames like that. I think it's really sweet," answered Ilana.

"It's weird. Love, in general, is weird. It doesn't last, anyway," Lance said dismissively.

"What would you know about love?" Ilana replied challengingly as she flew away.

"Not much, I guess," he said to himself as he followed her back to the house, remembering that he needed to get the car over there to take the two lovebirds to their respective homes.

Octus flew as fast as he could back to the city. He found a back alley to revert back to his Newton hologram. Suddenly, he saw Kimmy walking by, still as beautiful as she had been before, but now a little saddened. He tapped her on the shoulder, and she sighed as she turned around.

"This is the third time today that somebody's tried to-Newton!" she cried, hugging him, not caring where he had been for the moment.

"You didn't leave me after all," Kimmy said.

"You didn't completely abandon me, either!" Octus replied.

"You...said you had something to tell me?" she asked. Octus sighed.

"It's time for me to open up. I don't have much time to tell you this, because Lance won't like it if he finds out. So act like you don't know when he finds us, okay? And tell no one what I'm about to tell you." Kimmy nodded.

"Do you remember the time those three monsters came and attacked Sherman, Paris, and San Francisco?"

"Yeah," she replied. "It took Titan forever to show up and stop them. I had almost given up hope when-wait, what does this have to do with that?" she asked, although assumptions as to how they were connected already had formed in her mind.

"Lance, Ilana, and I are-well, we are involved with the construction and use of Titan. We operate it remotely from home, and all three of us must be there to use it properly. In case you haven't noticed, monsters always show up just before or after I leave, and Titan subsequently appears only minutes after they do. During and after the dance, Titan had to undergo massive repairs, which took us weeks to complete. I'm sorry that I had to remain so secretive about it."

"It's all right. If I had a secret that big and that important, I wouldn't be able to keep it together like you," Kimmy said. "So...you three are behind Titan?" she asked. "You three are the ones that have been saving us time after time against those monster things?"

"You are correct," Octus said, satisfied to have revealed at least some of the truth to her. He felt that a great weight had been lifted from his chest. Kimmy wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"I don't know why I'm happy-is it because you finally told me the truth, or is it because you finally told me that you're a hero?" she asked.

"I'm just an average person," Octus replied sheepishly, placing emphasis on the word "person". They stared into each other's eyes lovingly for one glorious moment, and then Kimmy leaned in for a kiss. Just then, Lance pulled up in his car, watching the scene in disbelief. He shook his head in amusement. He honked his horn after a few seconds, and the couple blushed in surprise. They hurried got into the car before attracting the stares of others.

"I take it you two had a good time, then?" Lance asked.


End file.
